James 3:1-12 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Not many [of you] should become teachers [serving in an official teaching capacity], my brothers and sisters, for you know that we [who are teachers] will be judged by a higher standard [because we have assumed greater accountability and more condemnation if we teach incorrectly].

Every now and then I like to read the amplified version of the bible. This is one of those cases. Those of us with children are all teachers whether we are qualified or not. Over the years I have discovered, in some cases, that the most unruly children are children of pastors. That is not a condemnation of pastors. It is a cautionary tale that not all pastors make good teachers.

My father suffered PTSD and my mother suffered Asperger’s Syndrome. They were good parents but had no skills whatsoever concerning teaching.

My father’s skill set was hunting, fishing, maintenance and work ethic. My mother’s skill set was cooking and cleaning. I grew up observing those correct behaviors.

What was missing? Well it turns out I didn’t know what I was missing that would have made my life better until much later in life.

During my PTSD training I discovered my parents could not give me what they did not possess themselves.

Herein is the lesson of the necessity of accountability in teachers. They cannot teach what they do not possess. This is why the church should examine the qualifications of those who would be placed in a position of teaching bible doctrine. It is too important to let the unqualified teach our members, children or adults.

They must have the right stuff in them in order to give it to others.

Now I am thinking about the movie The Right Stuff. Those astronauts went through the most rigorous testing before they were trained to be astronauts. And that was just to go to the moon. Eternal salvation was not at stake.